Amazon launches Kindle Paperwhite in UK ahead of October 25 release

Amazon has launched its new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader in the UK, with consumers able to pre-order the device from today.

Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite has arrived in the UK (Picture: Amazon)

The reading device, already on sale in the US, is Amazon’s first Kindle to be launched in the UK featuring backlight technology.

As well as being able to read in the dark, book worms will be able to rent books online from the firm’s new Lending Library.

The Kindle Paperwhite features backlight technology (Picture: Amazon)

Subscribers to Amazon’s £49-per-year premium delivery service, Prime, will be able to borrow one book per month from the library’s collection of over 200,000 books.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (EPA)

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said: ‘We’re already seeing the programme’s success in the US for both readers and authors – customers are reading more and authors are reaching a whole new audience while making money in a new way.’

A wi-fi version of the touchscreen Paperwhite reader is available from £109, with a 3G-enabled device on sale for £169.

Following its launch, executive Bezos revealed that Amazon will make nothing from sales of its latest Kindle and e-reader devices.

‘We sell the hardware at our cost, so it is break-even on the hardware,’ he said.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet is also set for release but it too will not provide a profit directly, and the success of its new devices is likely to rest on how many e-books and other media users buy.

Mr Bezos told the BBC: ‘We want to make money when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices.’